The Topps Company will be releasing baseball-style trading cards based on the new AMC series “Preacher,” TheWrap has learned.
The first cards for the television show become available today 12 p.m. ET, and new limited cards will be released following every new episode of “Preacher,” which airs on Sundays.
“The Topps Now program is the first of its kind for a television show because it offers fans an immediate collectible,”Jeff Heckman, Topps’ director of new product development & eCommerce marketplace, said.
Heckman told TheWrap that Topps might do something similar for other hit shows in the future but for now they “are focused on ensuring the ‘Preacher’ program is a success.”
Topps Now is a new program that launched in early April with the start of the Major League Baseball season and it releases timely trading cards within 24 hours of major, significant moments. The “Preacher” cards will do the same thing, with weekly editions pertaining to the most recent episode.
“Instead of having to wait months for a trading card, they can order it the next day,” Heckman said.
“Preacher” debuted last night, ending decades-long struggle to adapt the Garth Ennis & Steve Dillon graphic novel to the screen. Executive producers Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg got the job done, and the show centers on Jesse Custer, a West Texas preacher with a mysterious past.
The graphic novels were just that — graphic — featuring scenes of violence that were often used for dark comedic effect. The TV adaptation doesn’t shy away from the violence at all, using it to underpin the more serious and silly moments on the show.
Topps has been producing TV and movie cards for decades with TV Westerns in the 1950s, “Batman” (1966), “The Incredible Hulk” (1979), “Rocky,” “Planet of the Apes,” “Alf” and many others.
The company’s biggest entertainment brand is “Star Wars.” Topps has been producing “Star Wars” cards since the 1970s, and released several sets last year leading up to the “The Force Awakens.”
However, traditional card product usually take several months to reach consumers but the Topps Now concept will speed things up quite a bit for the “Preacher” collection.
“We’re excited to offer this hot content for a new TV show the day after an episode airs,” Heckman.
Topps also signed a deal with “The Walking Dead” for a product that will come out later in the year.